


Haseul's House of Misfits

by Yeorryactivist



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/F, Some Cursing, but they love eachother
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:34:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22345690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeorryactivist/pseuds/Yeorryactivist
Summary: What would you do if your extremely rich parents died one day leaving you with millions to your name? In Haseul’s case, she decides that opening up a house that allows people to live there for free might just be the best choice. Welcome to Haseul’s House of Misfits.This is just Loona as a very dysfunctional family.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Im Yeojin, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 21
Kudos: 217





	1. Free Housing

Looking up at the sign being hung up in the front of her recently purchased mansion, she couldn’t help but smile. 

_ Haseul’s House of Misfits _

She liked that. She liked that a lot. Even if her project was still in its early phases, and this was only the second residence, Haseul was content with how things were going so far. The project itself was what anyone in their right mind would call “unprofitable”. They were right about that. Allowing people to live and eat at a place for free was just about the most unprofitable thing to exist, but she wasn't doing this for money. She was doing this with a hope that her residents live their lives doing whatever they wanted to do without worrying about money. Something she never got a chance to do.

Haseul was as privileged as anyone could dream of being. Her parents owned one of the biggest electric companies in the country. They worked day and night to get as far as they did in life. Her mom was born into a pretty average household while her dad was born poor. 

At first, life was good for Haseul. When she was born, her parents had already bought stocks in some important enterprises. They lived in a nice neighborhood with a white dog and trees surrounding their house. Her parents were extremely loving to her. They treated her like a princess showering her with love and affection.

That all changed. Her parents were never truly satisfied with what they had. They kept investing in different things until they had enough to open up their own company. It had been a huge success. They had everything they could ever want, but money changes people. Her parents were no exception. They became just like any other rich person they were around. They didn't care about anyone other than themselves.

By the time her sister Yeojin was born, their parents were not the same people they used to be. It was evident they didn't want her as much as they had wanted Haseul. Even Though she herself was still a kid back then, she refused to let Yeojin live without feeling the love she had felt as a toddler. She did her best to always treat Yeojin with as much love as she was given. 

While she knew that her parents weren't good people, when the news broke out of them dying in a car crash a year back, Haseul broke. She had just turned 21 when it happened and now she was the owner of a multimillion dollar company as well as a loaded bank account. A lot of things were not clear for the young adult, but one thing was for sure, she would never become like her parents. Haseul had sold the company for an incredibly large amount. She was determined to be the person her parents failed to be. 

That’s how Haseul’s house of misfits began. Housing and rent prices were incredibly high and they were only going up even more. In the crime ridden city of Los Angeles, the only affordable places to live where now only in the worst parts of the city. Innocent lives living shoulder to shoulder with criminals and low lifes was something Haseul aimed to fix. She knew she couldn’t help everyone, but she could at least make a difference. That was enough for her. 

In order to always have enough funds to keep the place going in the long term, Haseul also opened a pub in downtown LA. It made enough money to be able to keep the price of rent free. Her long term girlfriend Vivi had also invested in the project. She was grateful not to have to do this alone.

She had 5 people living with her and Yeojin at the moment, but she knew more would come with time. Word about what she was doing had been spreading since she started, but Haseul wasn’t going to let just anybody take advantage of what she was offering. While all of her residents came from different backgrounds, they all shared the most important things in Haseul’s opinion.

They were all dreamers. 

They all had hopes and aspirations for the future. 

Most importantly, they were all incredible people. Nice, caring, and selfless. Not many people like that were left in this world.

They were misfits.

  
  
  
  
  


++

  
  
  
  


“We can't stay here anymore.”

“We have nowhere else to go.”

“We’ll find somewhere. I refuse to let the kids live in a place like this, Jungeun.” Sooyoung whispered with a sob. This was the best they could afford. She knew that. Even with her two full time jobs and Jungeun's two part time jobs, they could barely make it every month.

“Sooyoung, If we leave now, where else would we go. I don’t want the kids living in a place like this either, but is it really better to live in the streets.” Jungeun tried to rationalize. She had come home from her job to find sooyoung packing all of their belongings into boxes.

“It was next door Jungie. There were shots next door.”

“What happens next time this happens? What happens when they decide our apartment is the next target?” Sooyoung asks as she continues to pack up their stuff. “What happens if Hyejoo and Chaewon come home early and we’re gone? What if Yerim comes to pick something up after school? I can’t live here knowing they’re at risk.”

Sooyoung was right and Jungeun knew it. Shootings had been happening for a while now. They tried their best to ignore it, but recently it had been way too close to home for their liking. Staying here would put their family in danger. Even if they ended up living in her car for the next few months, as long as she was with her family she knew she would be fine.

Jungeun was a dreamer. Ever since she was little she always wanted to be more. To be important. Unlike Sooyoung, who spent most of her life in foster care, she had a good childhood. Two parents who loved her, a stable home, and food was never a problem. Even with all of that, Jungeun was never happy. She was meant to do more with her life than what her parents wanted. When she turned 18, she left and never looked back. 

She met a young run away a few months later. The young girl was lost but always smiling. Jungeun had decided she would do anything to keep her smiling. Not much later she met two sisters with loss in their eyes, yet they were still positive about their future. They had started a band and were later joined by a cute blonde. Now she was 20 and broke, but at least she was happy. She found a home in Sooyoung. A home she would follow anywhere.

Grabbing the box next to her foot, she sighs. “Well then, let’s get this done before they get home.”

  
  
  
  


++

  
  
  
  


It was to be expected. Yerim knew they wouldn’t last there. With her college tuition and Hyejoo and Chaewon’s classes for their GED’S, money wasn’t exactly their greatest asset. All three of them had offered to get a job, but both Sooyoung and Jungeun had shot down the idea as soon as it was brought up. “Your job is getting an education.” They would always say. Even with their reassurance, Yerim couldn’t help but feel bad for them. They were barely in their 20’s working all day every day to be able to provide for 3 girls whom they didn’t even have blood ties with. It was admirable.

They had been sneaking into the place where they play their gigs at for two weeks now. Their band, Odd By Y, was starting to take off after getting an offer to play at a pub downtown. Yerim had her girlfriend to thank for that. She had mentioned how hard it was to get gigs one night on the phone and within three hours, they received an offer. She didn’t know how she did it, but she was grateful. She was hoping the band could start making enough to allow both Jungeun and Sooyoung a little more free time. As she walked back from the gas station they had stopped by for food, she couldn’t help but overhear the whispers coming from the car.

“I could get another job.”

“Are you fucking insane. How do you plan on working another job on top of your other 2 jobs, Soo. If anything I should quit my part times and change over to full times.”

“One of us needs to be there for them. You know that.”

After a soft sigh she hears Jungeun start to cry.

“At least we agree that they are definitely not working until they finish school.”

Just as Sooyoung was about to answer, Yerim hears her phone ring. Yeojin.

_ Fuck _

She had been ignoring her girlfriend ever since they moved out. She hated lying to her, but she was scared to tell her what was going on. As far as Yeojin was concerned, she lived in the suburbs with her sister. 

With a sigh, Yerim figured it wasn’t fair to keep hurting the younger girl.

“Hello.” Yerim finally answered hesitantly.

“Thank fucking god. I was starting to get worried. What’s going on Yerm?” A concerned Yeojin asks.

She knew she should be truthful, after all, that was the girl she planned on marrying. However, Yeojin wasn’t like her. Yeojin was a put together genius who skipped two grades. Yeojin was a gorgeous goofball who had life set. Although she didn’t know the extent of her wealth, Yerim knew Yeojin was well off. What if she decides Yerim isn’t worth it after she finds out she was once a run away who’s currently living in a car with 4 other people? She couldn’t risk that.

“I’m okay. My sister just decided on an impromptu camping trip. I haven’t had signal until just now.” Yerim lies as her heart breaks.

“In the middle of a school week?” Yeojin wasn’t convinced. “Baby, what’s really going on? I know you well enough to be able to tell when your lying.”

Yerim’s heart drops.

“I’m sorry yeo, but i have to go.” She says quickly.

“Ok. I’m here for you. Please don’t forget that. I lo-” Yerim hangs up before she could finish. The guilt was already eating her up inside. She couldn’t hear those three words without breaking down at the moment.

“Should I be more concerned about you having a girlfriend I didn’t know about or about how your lying to her?”

Turning around, Yerim cursed. Jungeun was now staring at her with a raised eyebrow from inside the car. She had forgotten they were there.

“I…..” She stuttered.

“Interrogate her later.” Chaewon said with an eye roll as Hyejoo and her came out of the store. “Im sleepy.”

“Plus Yeojin is a saint. A loaded saint.” Hyejoo added with a wink.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP HYEJOO BEFORE I TELL THEM ABOU-” Yerim started before getting rudely interrupted.

“Ok that’s enough.” Sooyoung warned. “Get in the car now.”

All three of them got in as asked, but not before getting a few pushes in.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Jungeun stated as they headed to the pub to sleep.

  
  
  
  


++

  
  
  
  
  


It hurt seeing her like this. Hyunjin laying down screaming in pain broke her heart. Heejin knew the girl had been injured for a while now and no matter how many times she told her she needed to see a doctor, Hyunjin was just as stubborn as they came and always refused. She didn’t blame her for that. Being the star soccer player at one of the biggest universities in the country was a shit load of pressure, especially for someone on a scholarship.

“I know you don’t want to, but I think this time we really need to get you to a doctor, Hyun.” Heejin coaxed softly as she sat next to her on the bed.

“No. I’ll be fine.” Hyunjin answered back sternly as she sank down even further in her covers. 

“No you won’t. You know that better than I do. You haven't been fine for a while have you?” Heejin asked. 

A storm of silence filled the room as Hyunjin laid still. She was fine. She had to be. Without sports, she would become nothing. She knew there was something wrong. It wasn’t common for someone to feel the amount of pain she felt every time she took a step. Her leg was giving up on her when she needed it the most, and it frustrated her. The moment she stepped foot at a doctors office would be the moment she would get benched for injury. It would be the moment she would begin being at risk of losing everything she had been working for. Everything she had ever wanted.

She wasn’t like Heejin who could always run back to her parents if things went south. She was her family's only hope. Without her succeeding, the cycle would never break. Hyunjin had been the first in her family to graduate high school. The first to go to college. The first to leave their small hometown. The only choice for her was success.

The pain had been going on for months, and Hyunjin realizes now that she did this to herself. She had been stubborn in refusing to acknowledge that her leg was pleading for help. Instead of listening, she drowned herself in pain killers and played through the pain like she had always been thought to do. Now, it was too late to go back. 

As her small sobs cut through the silence, and she feels Heejins arms wrap around her, Hyunjin finally breaks down.

“Im not fine.”

  
  
  


++

Haseul was on her way to the pub to collect the money for the week. Usually she would go collect every other day, but this week had just been hectic. With Jinsoul ,one of her residents, leaving the sink on over night and just about flooding the whole 2nd floor, and Vivi’s flight getting canceled, it was an understatement to say that haseul was a little moody. Before she could continue revisiting the terrible memory of getting the bill for the extensive water damage, her phone began ringing. Her sister.

“What’s up bean.” Haseul asked, answering on her bluetooth.

“What do you do when you know your girlfriend is lying to you, but you don’t know why? Like i want to be mad at her for not telling me the truth. In fact, I know I should be mad that she’s closing me out, but I can’t be mad right?” Yeojin asked in lightning speed.

“Well, maybe she-”

“Wow, why didn’t I think of that. If she can’t tell me it’s probably because of something I did. I must have done something for her to think that she can’t trust me. It must have been for last week when i smeared ice cream on her cute little nose.” Yeojin cut in. “Thank you sissss.”

“You're welcome i guess?” She said confused as her sister hung up on her. Haseul didn’t even know Yeojin had a girlfriend.

Opening the door to her pub, the owner stopped dead in her tracks. Someone was inside. Taking her phone out to call 911, Haseul was surprised when her phone suddenly went flying to the other side of the room. Looking to her side, she screamed when she saw a taller girl standing next to her.

“Shit.” She heard the girl whisper.

Taking the chance to run, Haseul turned around and sprinted to her car.

“Wait!” She heard the girl scream. Turning around, Haseul finally got a good look at the girl. She was wearing a flannel and jeans. Her hair framed her face perfectly accentuating her worried eyes. After a closer look, she quickly realized that she was part of the band that always played here. Confused Haseul walked back inside.

“Explain.” She demanded.

“I'm so sorry boss. We had nowhere to go. I promise we were only here to sleep.” The tall female had answered with her head down.

“Who’s we?”

Slowly four other girls came out from hiding after the first girl called out for them. She quickly came to the realization that none of them could be much older than Yeojin. With a sigh, Haseul ordered all 5 girls to stay seated as she counted the money. 

Sure enough not a penny was missing.

“Ok start from the beginning. How did you guys end up here?” Haseul had asked after some consideration.

Jungeun did exactly what she was told. 

By the end, Haseul was left in shock. The selflessness, unity, and love displayed by all 5 girls was admiring. It didn’t take long for Haseul to come to a realization. They were misfits.

“Give me your phone.” She had ordered sooyoung. Noticing her hesitation, the owner pointed to her own phone on the ground. “You kind of broke mine.”

After giving her a sheepish look, the girl she now knew as Sooyoung handed over her terribly old iphone 4. It had been awhile since the millionaire had seen a phone that small, but she didn’t mention it. Quickly putting in the address to her mansion, Haseul handed back the phone.

“That’s my house. I’m going there and you guys are going to follow. Understood?” 

  
  
  


++

  
  


After what felt like hours, Hyunjin had finally calmed down. Heejin had been holding her since the dam broke. Not letting go until the athlete had stopped shaking. It had been rough to not break down along with her. Seeing how much she had been holding in made Heejin feel like a terrible friend for letting her bottle it up for so long. 

Both Jinsoul and Chuu, her housemates, had stopped to see what was going on. They both quickly realized this was a personal matter they couldn’t help with, and quickly left back into their room. She appreciated how they didn’t bombard Hyunjin with questions.

“Are you feeling better?” Heejin asked carefully. She was trying not to open another dam that would take another hour to close.

Hyunjin merely nodded. She wouldn’t admit it, but Heejin’s presence alone helped ease all the emotions going on in her head. She didn’t know if it was her calm demeanor of just the simple fact that she was very easy to look at, but it helped either way.

Hearing a door close, Hyunjin held her breath. Both Jinsoul and Chuu were home, and Yeojin never got home this early. Which meant that Haseul was home. Forgetting all about her injury, she tried to sit up. Only after she felt the excruciating pain coming from her leg did she remember why she was in this position in the first place. A piercing murder scream came out of her mouth before she could stop it. As soon as she heard fast paced steps coming towards them, she knew she had just fucked up.

++

  
  
  


As soon as she entered the huge mansion, Sooyoung’s jaw almost hit the floor. The place was absolutely beautiful. The black and white linoleum floor of the entrance glowed, obviously having been cleaned before she came. Stairs lay across the room, climbing toward the ceiling. A doorway was on either side of the room, one admitting you into the kitchen, the other into the living room. The walls were a dark blue with silver brush swipes crossing over it, creating a shimmer effect. In Front of the huge tv sat beautiful fully black couches with dark blue pillows adorning the sides. 

Looking at her girls beside her, it was obvious she wasn’t the only one in awe. Just as she was going to compliment the beautiful structure, a scream rumbled the house. Looking at haseul, it was clear something had just happened.

“Hyunjin.” She heard her whisper.

Scared that something had happened, Sooyoung had quickly followed behind, but not before telling the others to stay behind. 

Walking into the location of the scream, she was relieved to find a girl in tears in her bed instead of the murderer she expected. 

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!” Haseul had screamed as soon as she entered the room.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”  


“She’s not.”

“What the fuck Heejin.”

“Stop. You don’t have to tell me what happened I already know.” The short haired girl commanded. Sitting next to the girl, Haseul took her hand. “You promised me you wouldn’t let it get this bad. You promised you would get checked out.”

The girl in the bed seemed obviously riled up with guilt. 

Feeling like she was intruding, Sooyoung began to make her way back to the entrance. Only to be stopped by Haseul’s soft voice. “Don’t leave yet, I’m going to need help carrying her into the car.”

As soon as the older girl had said that, Hyunjin began panicking. She couldn’t go to the hospital. The moment they took her blood, she would be over with. She would lose her scholarship.

“Wait. Haseul please don’t. I can’t go to the hospital.” She pleaded

“You don’t have a choice. If you really think im going leave you like this then you really don’t know me.” Haseul answered back as she ordered sooyoung and Heejin to carry her to the car. 

Hyunjin began fighting the two girls ignoring her leg once again. The two girls eventually stopped and looked at her worryingly.

“Haseul, you don’t understand. The second the hospital takes my blood i’ll be screwed.” She finally admitted.

“Why is that.” Haseul curiously asked.

After looking at everyone in the room one by one, Hyunjin gulped. Stopping at Heejin’s confused face, her heart dropped to her stomach. She had really fucked up this time. 

“I’ve been taking illegal painkillers in order to play for months.” The athlete had finally choked out.

The silence in the room was unsettling. Haseul didn’t know how to respond to that. Heejin was in complete shock. Sooyoung was…. Confused? 

After a few minutes of thinking, Haseul sat next to hyunjin. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t suspected it, but it still didn’t mean she wasn’t in shock. The only thing she knew for sure was that Hyunjin would not be losing that scholarship as long as she was living with her. 

Looking at the scared girl staring straight back at her, haseul whispered in her ear. “I’ll take care of it, but for now we need to get you checked up.” 

Hyunjin saw the promise in Haseul’s eyes. Trusting that the girl that saved her once, would save her again, she finally allowed herself to be carried into the car. “It will be ok” kept repeating in her head in an attempt to make herself believe it as she passed out in the back seat.

  
  


++

  
  
  


Yeojin has seen a lot of weird shit while living with her sister. Which is why watching Hyunjin scream in pain as a girl she doesn’t recognize carries her into a car, almost seems acceptable. Maybe it was a kidnapping. Maybe not. It’s Hyunjin, she can take care of herself. 

Walking into the house yeojin is met with Haseul running around the house trying to find her car keys. Which happen to very obviously be in her back pocket.

“Umm…. Back pocket.” Yeojin comments.

“What, Yeojin!” Haseul snaps at her.

“Your keys they’re in your back pocket.”

“Oh.”

They stare at each other in silence until Haseul finally breaks eye contact to head over to her car. 

“We have new residents. Please help them get settled in.” Her sister mutters as she walks by.

Ok yea, maybe this was the weirdest thing that has happened. Or maybe not. Chuu has literally broken the roof after landing on it from a parachute. Jinsoul sometimes leaves random gundams around the house claiming they are easter eggs. Heejin….. It’s been too many things to even try to think of all of them.

“Fuck.” She hears someone say behind her.

Confused, she turns around, only to be met with a very nervous looking Yerim. 

“Babe?” 

As she takes a look at their new residents, one of which happens to be her girlfriend, Yeojin decides that maybe this one really does take the cake.


	2. The Fall of the Superstar

Haseul was conflicted. On one hand she could take Hunjin to a mundane hospital and let the doctors inform the coach about her abuse of unscripted painkillers, or she could deduce a way for it to never see the light of day. Hyunjin’s scholarship contract required every medical information to be transparent to the coaches. No matter where they went, they would be informed of everything the doctor found.

  


The only solution she could come up with would be to take the athlete over to her private family doctor and pay them out. She knew the doctor well enough to know it wouldn’t be their first or last bribe.

  


It was an abuse of money, and she knew it. It was something her parents wouldn’t think twice of doing. It was something Haseul had promised to herself never to do, yet here she sat driving to the doctors office ready to drop thousands in order to bury a secret.

  


It hurt her knowing that no matter how hard she tried, she would slowly become like them. 

  


However, Haseul was a woman of her word. She had promised Hyunjin she would deal with it. She convinced the college student to trust her, and now she had to make good on that promise.

  


If you asked which was more important, a promise made to herself, or a promise made to a friend? The answer would always be the latter. 

  


Thankfully when they arrived at the doctors office, Hyunjin was still out cold. The office was technically closed, but Haseul had called in a favor.

  


Leaving Hyunjin in the car, Haseul slowly walked into the building. 

  


It had been a while since she had been here. The white walls were still as unwelcoming as the last time, and the atmosphere was still just as tense. It still looked like a place only for the rich with an over the top chandelier swinging softly over the receptionist’s desk. 

  


Haseul hoped it would fall one day.

  


Making her way over to the main office in the building, a tall female suddenly towered over her.

  


“Ms. Jo, what a pleasure. How’s Yeojin?” The doctor asked with a smug smile. 

  


Haseul hated that damn smile. It was the same smile that had told her her parents were finally in a place where they belonged. 

  


Hell.

  


Still, it was because of that smile that Haseul was here. It took a cold hearted bitch to keep a secret.

  


“Cut to the chase joy.” Haseul hated small talk. “How much to keep that big mouth of yours shut?”

  


The words came out harsher than Haseul had intended. Could you really blame her? In the span of a few hours, she had found intruders in her bar, got a text that her girlfriend was going to be two days late rather than one, and got herself wrapped up in a shady deal. It was more than the calm natured woman could handle. 

  


To her credit, the doctor didn’t seem fazed at all. 

  


“Straight to business as always.” Joy smiled letting out an amused laugh. 

  


Extending her hand towards the millionaire, the doctor smirked. “100k for my cooperation.”

  


Taking her hand without hesitation, Haseul signs the promise she made to herself to the wind.

  


XX

  


Yerim was never someone who panicked. She was always the placid one who knew exactly what to do in times of crisis. Yet for some reason, she couldn’t move a single muscle at the sight of her girlfriend standing in front of her. 

  


Yeojin was not supposed to find out about the other side of her like this. She had planned a whole speech for when the time came to drop the bomb. However at that moment, the usually composed girl couldn’t even get a word out. 

  


“I thought you were out on a camping trip.” Yeojin asked confused.

  


Everyone was confused. 

  


Jungeun was trying to connect the dots. Sooyoung had already connected them, but decided to see how this played out. While both Hyeoo and Chaewon were trying to hold in their laughter at the absurdity of the situation.

  


There was not getting out of this and Yerim was painfully aware of that. Finally regaining her facility to move, the adolescent girl stepped towards her girlfriend grabbing her hand.

  


“We have a lot to talk about.” She said in a whisper as she led them away from her expecting family.

  


It’s not that she didn’t want them to know about Yeojin. In fact, if anything good emerged from this, it was that she could finally share her source of bliss with them, but the conversation she was about to have with her girlfriend simply seemed scarcely too personal for anyone’s ears other than theirs.

  


She additionally didn’t want to face the embarrassment of getting dumped in front of anyone. Which at this point, was the only possibility going through her brain. 

  


“What’s going on?” Yeojin asked in the process of being dragged outside into the cool breeze of the night.

  


No matter how hard she tried, Yerim couldn’t get any words to come out. She was once again frozen. She couldn’t explain how she was feeling. Was it frear? Was it sadness? Was it pity?

  


“Baby, you’re scaring me.” Yeojin coaxed softly. The shorter girl was still puzzled about the whole situation, but to her, the context didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that the girl she loved was obviously suffering, and she didn’t know why nor how to fix it.

  


Hearing the term of endearment finally caused Yerim to identify what she was feeling at the moment. Guilt. The censurability of all the white lies she told had been bottling up for months now. It was conclusively time to let it all out.

  


“I’m sorry.” Yerim voiced with traces of shame.

  


“What are you sorry for?” Yeojin asked as she took Yerim’s hand into hers.

  


The sudden physical contact was unbearable.

  


“I’m sorry for lying to you. I wasn’t out on a camping trip. I was out in a parking lot buying food for the night. I also don’t actually live in the suburbs with my sister. I was living in a car with those idiots inside, and before that i was living in a worn down apartment complex with crackheads as my neighbors. My parents aren’t living in another country. The truth is that I haven’t even seen them in years.” Yerim revealed in one breath as tears began to fall.

  


For a while, both girls didn’t say anything. After her outburst, silence followed. With every passing moment that Yeojin didn’t react, Yerim began to fear the worst. 

  


That is until Yeojin, without warning, bursted out laughing with the loudest laugh she had ever produced.

  


Yerim was completely bewildered.

  


“Sorry love. I’m just so relieved right now.” The younger girl stated after she calmed down. “Ever since we had that phone call earlier, I really thought you were mad at me. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what I did wrong since, but nothing came to mind.”

  


“Are you not mad at me?”

  


“Should I be?” Yeojin answered back as she casually rubbed circles on the older girls hand. “Sure you told me a few lies here and there, but i get why you did it. It was also my fault in a way for making you feel like you couldn’t be honest.” 

  


Yerim wanted to intervene. She wanted to tell her that it wasn’t her fault at all. That it was just herself that was too insecure, but before she could even open her mouth, Yeojin gave her a soft kiss of reassurance. 

  


“Last time I checked it doesn’t matter where you come from. You’re still the same Yerimie that asked me out with a note inside an ice cream cone that i ended up choking on. You’re still the same girl who lets me call her Choerry even though we all know you hate it, and you’re still the same angel that i’m head over heels for.” Pulling her girlfriend into a tight hug, Yeojin whispers into her ear. “This isn’t going to change that.”

  


Yerim didn’t even know she was holding in her breath until her body coerced her to gasp for air. She felt 100 pounds lighter with everything out in the open. The tears that were rolling down her cheeks out of fear, were now transformed into tears of happiness. 

  


Everything would be fine.

  


_ They  _ would be fine.

  
  


XX

  


Yeojin had never felt as relieved before. When Yerim had dragged her outside, she really thought that the older girl was going to end things by the way she looked. 

After going back inside, Yeojin found herself once again dragged. This time, however, it had been the courtesy of one of the other new residents. The female had sat her down on the couch as she stared at her from above.

  


“You must be Choi’s girlfriend.” The woman stated as she extended her hand out towards her. 

  


Yeojin had no idea who this lady was, but judging by the scared look on Yerim’s face, she figured she was probably her sister she had talked about. Something didn’t add up, however. The girl Yerim always mentioned had always been described as sweet and loving. While the girl looking down on her could only be described as scary. Feeling the pressure Yeojin decided to put her big girl pants on.

  


Shaking the female’s hand, Yeojin began to introduce herself. “Nice to mee-AAAAHHH!” Yeojin screamed as she felt her hand get crushed.

  


“JUNGEUN!”

  


“WHAT, SOOYOUNG?”

  


Recovering from the sudden pain, Yeojin looked up meeting eyes with an apologetic Choerry.

“Sorry.” She mouthed.

  


“Anyways.” Jungeun said as she let go of her hand. “I hope you are treating my daughter-”

  


“You’re literally not my mom.” Yerim whined as she stood up from her chair.

  


“Shut it because you're next.” 

  


Sitting straight back down, Yerim sealed her lips.

  


Putting her attention back on the girl on the couch, jungeun scrapped out the scariest voice she could muster. “If you even come close to hurting her, I swear i will person-” Once again she was interrupted

  


“This hag actually thinks she’s scary.” A whisper came from the stairs.

  


“WHAT WAS THAT HYEJOO.”

  


“She said and I repeat……. THIS HAG ACTUALLY THINKS SHE’S SCARY!” A short blonde screamed back from beside.

  


“Chaewon i swear to god i'm going to kick your ass.” Jungeun warned with an exasperated look.

  


“Don’t worry.” A dark haired girl smirked. “I don’t think she can catch us before her time is up.”

  


The silence in the room became so apparent that Yeojin was sure she could hear the buzzing from the flies outside. Only for it to be completely destroyed by Yerim’s sister? Mom? Whoever she was Screaming.

  


“THAT’S IT.” 

  


Soon enough all three of the girls began running around the house. 2 in fear and 1 in anger. Yerim eventually joined the chase after a few minutes.

  


Feeling the couch shift, Yeojin looked to her side as another female sat beside her.

  


Extending her hand towards her, she smiled. “I’m Sooyoung.”

  


Remembering what had happened last time someone shook her hand, Yeojin cautiously gave her a look.

  


Feeling her hesitation, Sooyoung chuckled.

  


“Don’t worry I'm not as bad as her.” 

  


Not fully convinced, Yeojin slowly put her hand in her’s.

  


“Yeojin. My name is Yeojin.”

  


“Nice to meet you Yeojin.” Sooyoung had her first love type of smile plastered on her face.

  


Pointing up to the chase going on, Sooyoung laughs loudly. “She’s not as bad as she seems.”

  


Looking up to see all 4 girls on the floor howling as they tickle one another, Yeojin decides that maybe she isn’t.

  
  
  
  


XX

  
  


“Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Also known as an ACL injury. I honestly don’t know how she was able to withstand playing this long.” Joy stated in shock as she came out of Hyunjin’s room.

  


“You mean to tell me she’s had a torn ligament for months.” Haseul whispered trying to not scare the already worried girl.

  


After her discussion with the doctor, they had carried Hyunjin into one of the empty rooms to get diagnosed. Much to her dismay, Joy had recognized the girl from the news. Hyunjin was always recognized as one of the best athletes California had ever seen.

  


“You’re telling me Kim Hyunjin THE Kim Hyunjin has been on drugs.” Joy had laughed as soon as she saw her. “Now wonder she’s so damn good.”

“Another word and the deal is off.” Haseul warned. Her tone must have been harsh because as soon as she said that, Joy immediately got to work. 

  


Even from the hall, Haseul could hear the whimpers of the kid. The 2 hours she had been waiting for felt like an actual eternity.

  


“The actual ligament has no pain receptors, but the pain comes from other areas near the ligament that get damaged as well. Since she has been putting so much pressure and movement, her knee has become increasingly damaged from when she first tore the ligament as well as severe cartilage damage.” The doctor explained. She had done some x-rays on the athletes leg expecting to find a micro fracture, but instead was met with a much more severe injury. A career ending injury. Even with all the painkillers, it should be impossible that she lasted that long without surgery.

  


Truth be told, Haseul understood nothing of what was being said, but she was smart enough to know it was bad. Very bad.

  


“Ok. How do we fix this and get her back out there?” 

  


“At this point, the only thing we can do is reconstructive surgery and months of physical therapy. At best she will be back on the field in 6 months.” Looking eye to eye with Haseul, Joy sighed. “At worst, her knee will never recover.”

  


The feeling of devastation hit Haseul like a train. It wasn’t even her world that was on the brink of falling apart, but it felt like it was. Hyunjin was an excellent player and an even better person. Stubborn at times. Maybe a little cold, but there was no doubt that she was one the most caring and sweetest of people she had ever come across.

  


Haseul had saved her once with the promise of a better life. Now it was time to do it again.

  
  


XX

  


_ Flashback _

_ October 18, 2019 _

  


_ She hadn’t expected it to be this cold. The weather forecast had predicted a decent night, which is why she had left her big blanket in her locker.  _

  


_ She hated carrying that thing around. _

  


_ Now as she laid down in the abandoned building she had been sleeping in for months, Hyunjin realized she really should have thought this through.  _

  


_ It wasn’t rare for a college student to be homeless in Cali, in fact, the statistics showed just how bad it was. For the fortunate ones who owned a car, winter was bearable, For the rest of them, not so much.  _

  


_ Even in La’s hot weather, winter was winter. Trying to sleep in an empty room at 40 degrees farenheit was a nightmare. Still, she was grateful to have found a roof over her head. Considering the horror that had been her freshman year, this wasn’t so bad.  _

  


_ When she first moved for college, Hyunjin had been naive thinking she would get on campus housing with her scholarship. (Thankfully they did provide a monthly allowance for food. Sadly, Not enough for any type of rent.) Only to be let down when she found out that was only for upperclassmen. Being as stubborn as always, the athlete decided she wouldn’t go back.  _

  


_ She got a campus job that gave her access to the school after class hours. (She was practically a janitor) managing to stay undetected for her first semester, Hyunjin stayed in the warm locker rooms every night. That all ended, however, when a security guard spotted her. From that night on she slept on secluded areas of the beach.  _

  


_ Hearing her stomach grow, Hyunjin decided it was time for dinner. There was a small bar a few blocks down that sold very cheap food. It had been her place of dining for a year now.  _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Something felt off. She had made the same trip a hundred times without problems, but this time, Hyunjin could see the shadows of two men following her. Picking up her pace, she prayed.  _

  


_ It became obvious her suspicions were right when one of the men began chasing her. It was late at night and nobody was out. With no one to help her, the athlete did what she was best at. She ran. _

  


_ Hyunjin was fast, in fact, Hyunjin was extremely fast, but even with her speed the men kept getting closer.  _

  


_ Just when hope was lost, a car slowed down beside her. _

  


_ “Get in!”  _

  


_ The women had taken her to a nice home. She gave her food, clothes, and offered her a free room.  _

  


_ Hyunjin never understood why Haseul saved her that day, but maybe she was never meant to understand. _

  


_ “Why are you helping me?” _

  


**_“Because I refuse to let another superstar fall.”_ **

  
  



	3. Sometimes Having Everything Means Having Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW Homophobia

Things had begun to calm down the day after. Hyunjin was sedated and getting ready for surgery, Haseul was on her way to the airport to pick up her girlfriend, and Yeojin seemed to start making progress with Jungeun. For someone, however, things just kept getting worse.

Heejin wasn’t able to sleep after the events of the night before. Seeing Hyunjin so vulnerable made her realize that even the strongest of people fall. Seeing someone's world falling apart in front of her reminded her of all the times she had been the cause of someone’s pain. It brought back memories Heejin had desperately tried to forget.

Heejin was different from them. Everyone knew that. She didn’t come from a struggling family like Hyunjin or Jiwoo. She wasn’t a noble animal’s right activist like JInsoul, and she most certainly was not half as selfless as the Jo sisters. Heejin was the opposite of all of that.

At Least she used to be. 

It was past noon when the girl finally decided it was time to get off Hyunjin’s bed she had been glued to since the whole ordeal. To be honest, it wasn’t her who made the decision, but rather her growling stomach that kept reminding her she was alive and in need of nutrients.

Making her way into the kitchen, Heejin was met with strangers. She had forgotten they had new residents. Hoping they wouldn’t be in the mood to socialize, the burnette began preparing the one thing she knew how to make. Cereal.

Hyunjin usually made breakfast for both of them before heading out to school. One more painful reminder of how much she missed the girl. Before she got too far into her head, a loud gasp followed by a glass breaking brought her straight back into reality.

“Heejin?” Someone whispered.

With her spoonful of cereal in the air, she froze. Even without turning around, Heejin knew who it was. It was the same small voice of the person whose life she had destroyed. It was the voice that consumed her every night when darkness allowed her to remember. It was the single person she had been running from.

  
  
  


##

**_2 Years Ago_ **

_ “Dad, does it really matter that much?” Heejin frowned. _

_ “Of course it does sweetheart.” Her father replied with the same processed smile he used for business. “The park family is somehow acquiring more stocks than I am. If these rumors turn out to be true, no one will want to sell to them anymore.” _

_ The Jeon and Park families had been in constant battle for years now over the stocks of their shared business. Both families were very well known to be ruthless. They seemed to have no lines to how low they were willing to go in order to get ahead. Heejin knew that first hand.  _

_ She grew up in the middle of a war with no end in sight. Heejin was only 12 when she overheard her dad plan a car accident which would take the lives of 2 Park workers. She was 15 when another mysterious car accident claimed the life of her mother. That was when she began to understand what hatred felt like. Hatred towards the horrid man who ordered the attack and hatred towards the terrible husband who couldn’t seem to care less that he just lost his wife. _

_ To Heejin, life was nothing more than a land mine waiting to explode. She knew the moment her dad transferred her to the same school as his rival's daughter that SHE herself was also nothing more than a land mine just waiting to be triggered.  _

_ “All you have to do is get close to her.” Her father said as he crept closer to her. “If this rumor is true than being her friend should be more than enough.” _

_ In retrospect, Heejin should have known better than allowing herself to become another pawn in this endless war, However, the simple possibility of revenge seemed too good to let go. With hatred fueling her every move, Heejin realized she wasn’t as different from her dad as she first thought she was. _

  
  


_ ## _

“So the rumors were true.” Chaewon whispered as she walked closer to Heejin. “You really did run like the coward you are. All this time I thought you were at least at home being as miserable as you made me, but instead here you are as if nothing ever happened.” The only thing that had kept Chaewon going after the whole fiasco that was the past 2 years was the simple thought that at least Heejin was still rotting in the top of the hierarchy as her dad’s puppet. It infuriated her that she had been able to get away from a punishment she deserves.

“Chaewon, please let me explain.” Heejin begged while finally turning around to face the cause of her nightmares. There was nothing to explain and both girls were painfully aware of that.

“Let you explain what? What are you going to explain, Heejin?!” The small blonde sneered as Heejin cowered further and further into her chair. “You made me believe you understood what I was going through. You came into my life when I needed someone the most. I trusted you! And for what?” 

Pulling Heejin out of the chair, Chaewon forcibly grabbed her by the collar. “You were the first person i told.” The blonde whispered as a sob finally made its way out, no longer being able to contain it. The shock of meeting the one person that destroyed her was overwhelming. “You recorded one of my most vulnerable moments for the world to see. Even when the video first came out I….. I thought everything would be fine because at least I had you. I thought someone had followed us that day and recorded it while we were talking.” With as much strength as she could muster, Chaewon held back another sob pulling Heejin closer to her. She refused to look weak like she did the last time they met. “Now imagine my surprise when I found out you were the one who posted it.”

“I really am sorry Chae.” Heejin said without fighting back. After all, she deserved this.

“Don’t you dare call me that.” Chaewon spit out after pushing Heejin onto the ground. Looking at the girl below her, she couldn’t help but laugh. “You look pitiful. I hope you know that.”

“I do.”

“Good.”

##

**_2 years ago_ **

  
  


_ Getting close with Chaewon was a lot easier than she had expected it to be. The short blonde was friendly and quite nice to be around. Even when Heejin revealed who her father was, she didn’t seem to care. “Well it looks like we have more in common than I first thought.” She had said. _

_ Being friends with Chaewon was also extremely easy. The girl was nice, pretty, and surprisingly funny. Heejin realized that in another world they might have been true friends.  _

_ It didn’t take long before both girls were stuck to each other's side. To the outside world, the pair seemed odd. A Park and a Jeon getting along was not something people expected to see. Heejin knew that all of this wouldn’t last. At the rate things were going, she would be getting what she was after any time now. Still, she allowed herself to enjoy the company of someone who had been through the same things she had.  _

_ The day finally came one late october evening. They had gone to get food after school and were now sitting at the end of a random cliff in the middle of L.A. Things had been going quite normal for the most part. Heejin’s father had been rushing her for weeks now. He didn’t want his daughter around “that'' type of people for longer than necessary. For Heejin, this outing meant the end of a friendship she had begun to cherish. _

_ “Can I tell you a secret?” Heejin asked. _

_ “Shoot.” Chaewon answered, turning her attention fully to the burnette. _

_ “I think I like someone.”  _

_ “And why is that a secret?” Chaewon giggled. _

_ “Ryujin. I think I like Ryujin.” She confessed after a long pause. _

_ “Oh”  _

_ After a moment of thinking, the blonde grabbed Heejins hand and leaned closer to her. _

_ “Can I tell you a secret?” She whispered, imitating the other girl. _

_ “Shoot.” _

_ “I’m gay.” _

_ ## _

Haseul had never been happier to get away from home. After the stress filled day that had been the day before, the homeowner needed more than just some fresh air. She needed some cuddles and attention. Thankfully for her, Vivi was set to land in less than ten minutes.

As she waited, her mind couldn’t help but start reviewing the past couple of days. Before going to the airport to pick up her girlfriend, Haseul had personally gone to Hyunjin’s school to talk to her coach. She made sure to make it known that Hyunjin was under her protection and that if her scholarship suffered from an injury she couldn’t control, she would not hesitate to move the soccer player over to their rivals. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep the situation controlled for a while. 

Before her mind had a chance to go to a darker place, a pair of arms wrapped around her neck from behind. Haseul didn’t need to turn around to know that her girlfriend was behind her.

“Guess who!”

“The cookie monster?” Haseul smiled as she felt a soft slap on her left shoulder. 

“Just for that I’m not giving you any attention today?” Vivi playfully pouted.

“We both know you missed me just as much as i missed you.” The short haired girl started with a smile while she stood up and extended her arms for a hug.

In a blink of an eye, Vivi had quickly jumped into her girlfriend's arms. “Maybe your right.”

Getting in the car after their quick reunion, Haseul remembered all the things she needed to catch Vivi up on. From Hyunjin being an absolute idiot, their new residents she probably should have done a background check on before allowing to live with them, to the fact that Yeojin has a girlfriend. (Yeojin had officially introduced them right before they left. It had taken Haseul a few minutes of shock to comprehend it. She’s still trying to understand why someone like Yerim would even look at her average sister.)

“Hyunjin’s in the hospital.” Haseul announced expecting a freak out.

“The painkillers finally stopped working, huh.” Vivi mumbled to herself. The older girl had known about this for a while, but decided it wasn’t any of her business.

“You knew?” Haseul asked, surprised.

“Of Course I did.” Vivi chuckled. “I know everything babe.”

“I bet you didn’t know that we have new residents.” Haseul challenged.

“Ah…. Yeojins girlfriend finally asked for help. It was about time. I was honestly getting tired of watching all of them suffer for no reason.” Vivi retorted. She only knew that because she was the one Yeojin asked to hire the band for the pub. While the band didn’t directly work for them, they were in their premises which is why Vivi had run a background check. Apart from Sooyoung's minor crimes and one very well explained felony, they were clean. It was obvious they were going through a hard time after looking up their address.

“How…..?” Haseul asked herself. She shouldn’t be surprised, Vivi always did in fact know everything.

For example, she was also conscious that Heejin was going to have a mental breakdown after meeting Chaewon, but that also was none of her business.

  
  
  


##

  
  


After her outburst, Chaewon had done what she did best. She ran. She ran to the park a few blocks down the mansion. Just being in the same place as Heejin made her feel like she was suffocating. Plus she knew Hyejoo had been just a few feet from where it all happened and wasn’t ready for an interrogation.

Sitting on a bench alone, Chaewon allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts. After the whole video incident happened, her dad had been the worst. It was to no one's surprise really. After all, in the culture and society she came from, being gay was not something many people were very accepting towards. His stock prices took a hit and people began whispering about him. 

Her father had never been a caring dad, but he was undoubtedly better than Heejin’s dad. At Least hers left her alone most of the time. Just like any other of his friends, however, he valued money over everything. The moment something started affecting his business was the moment he became the cold hearted man everyone else knew. Which is why she wasn’t surprised when he tried to ‘fix’ her as well.

The first few months were hell for her. Her father began taking out his anger on everyone. He had taken her out from school and locked her in her room so she could “think about her actions”. (Because of this, she never finished High School.) Later on, he wanted to send her to Japan for a few years for a get away. Chaewon wasn’t stupid. She knew He was just trying to get rid of her. The school he had enrolled her in was a catholic school with very nightmarish reviews from people that had been there. He was hoping for her to “pray the gay away” and Chaewon was going to have none of that. She ran away from the airport when he took her there. They had an argument and he kicked her out.

She moved to a whole different city. Her 18th birthday had just passed a few days before, she was now legally allowed to do anything she wanted. She only took one backpack with her, a few hundred dollars, and a dream. A dream to finally be free. 

She would hop from place to place relying on people's generosity to survive. She was happy. For the first time in her life, even as she had nothing, she was finally happy. Some nights were tougher than others, but no matter if the only place to sleep was in the Walmart parking lot with her broken down car she had managed to get after selling her stupidly expensive jewelry, she felt free. And after meeting a dark haired girl with a family with hearts of gold, Chaewon came to the quick realization that everything would be fine. Because  **_sometimes having everything means having nothing._ **


	4. I'll Be Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you guys just love it when I don't update for more than a month. I really am sorry for being so slow to update. I would promise to update quicker, but we all know that ain't happening lol I hope you enjoy.

“Where’s Jins- Whoa Whoa what happened!?” Jiwoo panicked as she entered the kitchen. Heejin had been rolled up in a chair as tears steadily streamed down her face. Her dampened sleeve making it evident she had been like this for a while.

Taking a seat next to the crying girl, Jiwoo had no idea what to do. She wasn’t the closest to Heejin, In fact, she was probably the one who knew the girl the least. As she hesitated in her seat, the crying burnette let out a soft sob that broke her heart. In a second, Jiwoo had wrapped her arms tight around Heejin and held her tight as the tears began to flood faster.

They sat in that same position until soft and steady breathing filled the room. It had easily been 30 minutes since Jiwoo found her crying, but even then she couldn’t dare to move afraid she would wake her up. So she sat there. She sat there with her arms still wrapped tightly around her small fragile body, her hands rubbing soothing circles to her back, and with a worried look that slowly faded away with every snore Heejin let out. She only let go when Vivi got home along with Haseul. Vivi had immediately picked Heejin up and carried her to her room with a knowing look. Haseul just stood behind her girlfriend confused.

Although she was worried for her friend, Jiwoo knew she was in good hands. Vivi was practically Heejin’s mom ever since she personally brought her to the house. No one truly understood the connection between the two, but they could all tell it was strong.

Letting her worries subside, Jiwoo continued on with her mission. Her roommate, Jinsoul, had been missing all morning. While it wasn’t rare for the marine biologist to not come home until way past dark, it was rare for her to not be by Jiwoo’s side when she woke up. It had become a part of her daily routine to have to quite practically pry an exhausted Jinsoul off of her every morning. It almost felt wrong to not have the weight of another human on top of her all night. 

Jiwoo wasn’t worried about her friend. How could she be when the girl in question was the most boring person she had ever met. She knew Jinsoul had been stacked up on work for weeks now and probably pulled an all nighter to catch up. Even then, the emptiness she felt when she woke up alone was something she did not want to experience again.

Unbeknown to Jiwoo, Jinsoul had been rushing all night trying to make it home in time. Her boss had asked her to file some new reports. Unable to say no to someone with more power than her, she had taken the task. Normally it wouldn’t have been that bad, but for someone who was already a week behind on work, there was no way she was finishing in time. It had just turned noon and she was barely packing up her things to go home. 

She knew Jiwoo didn’t like it when she overworked herself, but as the only female in her research team, she had something to prove. She had worked hard for years just to simply earn her spot, but even then they seemed to treat her as if she hadn’t earned it. The only thing that seemed to remind her why she worked as hard as she did, was the smiling idiot that slept next to her every night. The thought that Jiwoo had been through so much throughout her life to get to where she was inspired Jinsoul to do the same. 

Finally making it home, Jinsoul was not in the least surprised to find a worried Jiwoo waiting for her at the entrance. 

“Look who finally decided to come home.” Jiwoo said with a frown that made Jinsoul wince.

“I’m sorry. How long have you been waiting?” Jinsoul answered apolegitacally as she suffocated the other girl with a hug.

“No. No. You don’t get any affection.” Jiwoo scoffed as she pushed her friend away. “Do you know how lonely i felt when i woke up with no one beside me?” A pout made its way onto the shorter girl's face.

Smiling, Jinsoul chuckled. She knew her roommate well enough to know she wasn’t actually mad at her, which is why when she went back for another hug, she wasn’t surprised when it was reciprocated.

“Let’s go to bed, I think i owe you some cuddles.” Jinsoul held the girl tighter as she led the way to their bedroom. The smell of flowers and baby powder intruding her nostrils with a sense of familiarity she had been yearning for all day. 

“You’re taking a shower first though. You smell like fish.”

++

  
  
  


Chaewon couldn’t remember when she had fallen asleep. What she did remember was waking up with her head on someone’s shoulder. 

“AHHHH!!”

“Calm down princess. It’s just me.” 

Hearing the familiar voice made Chaewon smile. It was the voice of the one person that always made her feel better. As the events of the past hours came rushing back, Chaewon became confused. Looking around, she realized she was still at the park she had run away to. How Hyejoo had found her was a mystery, but she was glad she was there with her.

“How long have I been out for?” The blonde asked.

Without taking her eyes off her phone she had been staring at the whole time, Hyejoo gave a simple shrug. 

“I was literally asleep on you. How do you not know?”

“I don’t know. You disappeared and I got worried, so I came looking for you. I found you asleep on this bench about an hour ago.” Hyejoo answered, finally sparing her a glance.

Snuggling closer to her best friend, Chaewon couldn’t help but smile. The thought of Hyejoo sitting out in the hot weather for an hour in order to not wake her up warmed her heart. She liked acting tough but Chae knew she couldn’t stand this type of weather.

“Thank you.” She whispered.

Reaching out to grab her hand, Hyejoo gave her a reassuring squeeze as she pulled her in tighter. She knew her friend was not the type to show affection in public, much less be the one to start it. It made her feel better knowing someone had her back.

Even Though her eyes were still glued to her phone, Hyejoo still managed to convey her sincerity as she gave her hand one last squeeze and said, “I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

  
  
  
  


++

  
  
  


“You can’t protect her forever.”

“I can try.” Junguen retorted, holding a letter in her hand.

“They’ve been looking for her for months now.” Sooyoung tried to rationalize. “They’re going to get to us eventually.”

Junguen sighed in defeat. She knew Sooyoung was right. Yerim’s parents had been looking for her for 5 months now. They always somehow manage to find ways to get to them no matter where they went. Even if she knew Yerim wasn’t her actual kid, Junguen had treated her like she was ever since they met. She didn’t know the full story of what happened between her and her parents, but she knew that if things were so bad that a 16 year old child felt safer in the streets than at home, it was probably for the best she kept her away.

Yerim was just recently getting over all the trauma from her childhood. The nightmares that always seemed to invade the teenagers mind had just recently stopped and the stories that had remained untold were finally beginning to see the light of day. Junguen knew that coming face to face with the reason her baby had been hurt for so long would only cause more harm than it would do good.

“We can try to get a restraining order.” Sooyoung spoke up after a moment of silence. 

“With what money Soo?” Junguen desperately asked. Even without having to pay rent, the school for the kids was expensive and even though the band helped, it was not nearly enough for a lawyer. 

There was also the matter that under the law she had technically kidnapped a child. They had already had problems with Yerim’s parents about that, so many in fact that she knew they would not hesitate to take her under the court of law. Even with her being an adult at this point, she was sure they would find a way to ruin their lives.

From the few times Yerim had talked about her past, Junguen had an idea of how she was treated. Even though they had never been physically abusive to her, she knew they were mentally abusive. Through the many nightmares Junguen had to wake the younger girl from, she also knew they had terrible fights in front of her. Including the fact that to this day Yerim still flinched when she heard anything remotely loud, It was clear their fights were not just verbal.

One thing was certain. Yerim was her baby, and she’d be damned if she let anything happen to her.

  
  


++

  
  
  
  


For the first time in a long time, Hyunjin felt powerless. She had been laying on the stupid hospital bed for only a few hours after they had transferred her to the emergency unit and she already didn’t know what to do with herself. The pain was long gone after all of the painkillers and numbing agents they had given her. She could barely feel anything physically, which meant she was now stuck with only her thoughts. 

In a few more hours her surgery would start. It would determine her future. If everything went perfect, then she could get past this and pretend it never happened. If not.... It would be over. Everything she had worked so hard for would go straight down the drain. 

Her mind had always been a dark place which haunted her when she visited for too long. It was for that reason that she began doing sports at a very young age. Throwing her body to its absolute limits made it difficult to think about anything else. Now having no option but to face her thoughts head on, Hyunjin felt like she was suffocating. 

The memories of her stupidity, the shame she felt of her family, even the happiness she felt in the soccer field, It was too many feelings too quickly. Sleeping helped for a while, but there’s only so much sleep one person could have. 

Trying to stray away from the negative side of her brain which seemed to be the larger side, the athlete began to think about things that made her feel at peace. Hyunjin quickly made the discovery that there wasn’t much. Her mom made her feel at peace, but those thoughts quickly reminded her of her dad who brought anger. It seemed like everything in her life was a double edged sword. That is except for….. Heejin?

She couldn’t explain it really. She didn’t seem to understand why the only thing that brought her absolute peace and happiness was her overly affectionate roommate. It confused her to no end. Still, even in that confusion it was clear that Heejin seemed to be her only constant reminder that things would be ok. So she settled on those thoughts. For hours on end until the nurses came to get her for her surgery, Hyunjin relieved her memories with the girl. Smiling happily.

Even in times of despair, Heejin was her hope.

  
  


++

  
  


It had been hours since Hyejoo found Chaewon at the park. Her blonde friend was currently still in their room sleeping. She had patiently waited to see if she would open up to her, but it seemed like she needed a bit more time before talking about it. Hyejoo understood that. She didn’t need Chaewon to tell her what happened. She already knew. 

When they first found the tiny blonde, it had been a rainy day. Yerim and her were on their way home when they came across a girl trying to get her car started. After a few failed attempts the poor girl broke down into tears. Feeling pity, they had approached her and asked what was wrong. They had expected it to be simply so car issues that wouldn’t take long to fix. What they ended up getting was a stranger telling them their life’s story. They had taken the girl home with them, clothed her, fed her, and the rest is history.

Hyejoo knew a lot about her friend. Even the things she never said out loud. Which is why when she saw a sad looking Heejin walking around the living room, she couldn’t help but reassure her.

“She doesn’t hate you.” Hyejoo said as she passed past her.

“Huh.” Heejin muttered as she turned around. She hadn’t expected anyone to talk to her.

“Chaewon.” Hyejoo replied as she kept walking. “She doesn’t hate you.”

Hearing those words almost pushed Heejin into another crying session, but she knew it wasn’t true.

“She does and she has every right to.”

Finally stopping, the blacked haired girl with eyes as sharp as knives turned around. Facing face to face with Heejin, she smiled.

“I know it’s tough to believe right now, but i can assure you she doesn’t hate you. Chaewon doesn’t have the heart to hate anyone.” Starting to walk back to where she had intended to go, Hyejoo reassured her once more. “Just give her time.”

Feeling a wave of relief flush her from the inside out, Heejin couldn’t help but smile. The thought of Chaewon forgiving her was still too hard to believe, but if there was even a slight possibility of it happening, Heejin would absolutely flourish.

With that Heejin made her way to her car. She had someone to see.

  
  


++

Hyunjin was getting her last check up done before surgery when she heard the door to her room burst open. 

“I’m sorry i’m late.” An exhausted Heejin said. Running straight to her best friend, she quickly gave her a hug.

“So now you decide to show up. After leaving me alone for hours, you show up just as they’re about to take me away.” Hyun teased hugging her friend back. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but she had been growing angsty at the thought of not seeing the one person that mattered before the big event.

Pulling back, Heejin let out a slight huff. “Next time I won’t even come.” She whined earning a laugh from the patient.

“So how are you feeling?”

Hyunjin hated that question. 

“Do you want the truth or a positive lie.” She answered.

“The truth, Hyun.”

“Then the truth is that i feel….” Hyunjin started to say but quickly realised she didn’t know exactly how she felt.

Sitting next to her Heejin gave her a knowing look. “You feel scared.”

“I do.” Hyunjin quietly admitted. She had shifted closer to her until Heejins arms laid comfortably around her.

“It’s ok you know? You’re allowed to feel fear at a time like this.”

“What if it fails? What if I can never play again? My whole life would be over.” Hyunjin relayed her worries to the only person she would ever admit anything to.

“No matter what happens. No matter if it fails or succeeds, you are still the same Hyunjin. Nothing changes that.” Heejin comforted rubbing circles on the girls back.

They stayed like that until time finally came for Hyunjin to go.

“No matter what, I’ll be here. Ok?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. OOf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow i really suck at updating don't I. Please leave comments below. It motivates me write faster lol.

A month had passed since Hyunjin had been rushed to the ER. The results of the surgery were still not clear, as her knee needed time before they could decide if it was a success or a failure. Till this point, however, it seemed as if it had been a success. Hyunjin was able to walk slowly by herself without feeling like she was dying and was thankfully back home. In a wheelchair of course, but back home nevertheless. 

Physical therapy wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, and surprisingly, her coaches seemed to be extremely understanding of her situation. (Haseul had threatened more than a few times to move Hyunjin to a different college if they didn’t cooperate. Hyunjin didn’t need to know that, though.) In summary, life was going good for Kim Hyunjin.

For those reasons, the athlete really couldn’t help the smile playing on her lips as she absently minded listened to Heejin rant about Netflix adding The Last Airbender to their site. It was an interesting rant to say the least. 

Normally Hyunjin would have already told her friend she didn’t care, but with how Heejin had been acting lately, she was just glad to see her back to her old self. Even if that meant hearing her talk about things that didn’t matter. 

She didn’t really know what had happened. In fact, she had absolutely no idea what happened. All she knew was that when she came back from the hospital, she was met with a slowly deteriorating heejin laying on her bed. It was clear as day that the girl had not moved for days. It was a weird dynamic they had going on. When it was only the two of them, slivers of the normal Heejin would show up every now and then. The overly affectionate Heejin with weeb tendencies that she missed so much would pop out late at night or early in the morning when it was only them cuddling and barely awake. As soon as other people were present however, Heejin would become an emotionless human whose sole purpose was just to keep breathing. It confused the athlete to no end.

Still, who was she to push her to talk. How could she say anything when she went months keeping everything inside until it all burst out the worst way possible. At some point, Heejin was bound to burst. Just like she was for her, Hyunjin will be there as much as she’d be wanted.

“I’m boring, aren’t I?” Heejin asked, pulling Hyunjin out of her thoughts.

“Huh?” Hyunjin mumbled surprised. 

“You haven’t even been listening, you jerk.” Heejin playfully accused as she pointed her finger at her.

“I have! How dare you accuse me of such a thing.” Hyunjin responded with a fake pained look.

“Yea right. You probably stopped listening the second i opened my mouth.” Heejin pouted.

“That’s not true.” Hyunjin continued enjoying the rare bickering coming from her friend.

“All I ask is for your attention and….” Just as Heejin was about to continue with her overly dramatic award winning performance, a small blonde walked past them hand in hand with a dark haired girl in a hoodie. Any trace of the playful Heejin she loved and missed, evaporated as they walked past them. Not even sparing a glance.

Ofcourse. How had she not noticed it. The longing stares, the streaks of sadness everytime they are feet away from each other. It was obvious. Hyunjin realized it now. 

Heejin was in love with Chaewon.

  
  
  


++

“You can’t ignore her forever, you know?” Hyejoo spoke as they walked out of the house.

“I can try.” A little voice answered back.

Hyejoo knew it wasn’t her place to intervene, but no matter how many times she denied it, she knew Chaewon was hurting just as bad as Heejin. The difference being that Chaewon had been trained her whole life to hide what she was feeling. Whereas Heejin had been trained to let her emotions take over. In Hyejoo’s opinion, They were both being stupid and selfish, but then again, who was she to judge.

“Whatever you say, Chae.” Hyejoo mumbled.

As their short walk to the bus station continued, silence set in. A comfortable silence. The day was nice. Not too hot nor homid and the birds decided now was a great time to spread their wings. Walking on the nicely kept grass of their new neighborhood, it was easy to get lost in the beauty of comfort. They had only been there for a month, but it was easy to get used to the nice simple life that living in the right side of the city provided.

“I got a job.” The blonde blurted out out of nowhere.

It wasn’t news to Hyejoo, after all they share a room and a computer, but for her friends sake she decides to entertain her.

“You what!?” Hyejoo shouts dramatically. “Junguen and Soo are not going to like that.” She adds.

“I know but I can't take them providing for me anymore.” Chaewon answered back. She was well aware of her friends dedication to make sure they get their education, but it still hurt seeing them work hours on end only to waste it all on them.

“If you insist on getting your ass kicked.” Hyejoo joked. 

Finally reaching the bus, both girls walk to the back taking the seats on the end.

“I’m just saying that they’re going to find out at some point.” Hyejoo continued once seated.

How hard could it be to keep it a secret. Chaewon had already thought of it and the truth was that they were barely ever home to begin with. As long as she picked hours similar to Junguen’s who was home the most, it shouldn’t be impossible to keep it from them.

“Come on. How hard can it be”? The blonde asked.

“I’m just saying, Chae. They will find out, they always do.” Hyejoo answered. Shivers making their way down her spine as she remembered when she tried to do the same thing a year earlier. It didn’t take more than 2 days for Sooyoung to find out. Let’s just say she will never try it again after the whole incident Sooyoung created to get her fired.

After their conversation, the girls fell into another easy silence as they waited to get to their stop. Hyejoo was on her phone while Chaewon was trying to take a nap beside her. Nothing out of the ordinary really happening. Once they reached their stop, both girls stood up to get off. Chaewon walking in front of Hyejoo. As they walked down the crowded aisle towards the exit, Hyejoo noticed a man with a smirk on his face as Chaewon walked past him. In what felt like slow motion, Hyejoo saw the man pull out his hand towards her friend's ass. It was clear what was about to happen. Without any hesitation, she quickly grabbed the man's hand twisting it upwards in anger. 

“AHH!” The man cried out. “YOU LITTLE BITCH.”

The dark haired girl simply rolled her eyes as she kept walking silently pushing Chaewon further ahead of her. 

“What happened.” Chaewon silently asked.

“Nothing.” Hyejoo answered emotionlessly with her hand staying protectively on the blondes lower back.

As soon as they excited the bus, the taller girl felt herself get turned around forcibly by the shoulder. Ducking as the man ,who had followed them out, threw a punch towards her, she sighed. She had hoped for a nice uneventful evening. It seemed like the gods had something against her. 

After a few dodged punches from the man, Hyejoo was slowly starting to get aggravated. She was hoping not to have to hurt the man. Mostly because she couldn’t be bothered to use force if not needed, but as the man realized he was going nowhere, he quickly changed his direction as he threw the next punch. This time it was aimed toward a confused Chaewon standing behind the taller girl.

Gently pushing Chaewon to the side, Hyejoo grunted as his fist made contact with her left shoulder. With her patience growing thin, she finally grabbed the guy by the collar before forcibly throwing him down. Sitting on top of him as he gets one more punch in, straight into her face. With her knees on one of his wrists and the other on his private area, Hyejoo applies just enough pressure to see the man shift in pain. 

“I’m going to get off you and when I do you're going to walk away, because if you don’t i’m going to make sure you never have kids.” Hyejoo calmly threatens as she begins to get up. 

Once fully up, she starts walking away when she feels a slight wind coming from behind her. Turning around towards the man charging straight at her, Hyejoo finally loses all self restraint as she throws a quick powerful hook with her right arm. Hitting him straight on the nose, Hyejoo feels something break as her fist makes impact. With him dazed and confused, Hyejoo walks close to him. Quickly and powerfully she lifts her knee straight into the man's groan.

Hyejoo is a woman of her word. 

  
  
  


++

  
  


“Jinsoul.”

Looking up from her laptop sitting on her lap, Jinsoul looks up to see her roommate hanging from the ceiling with her camera on hand. As the camera flashed straight into her eyes, Jinsoul couldn’t help the chuckle that left her lips. Jiwoo had been at it since they woke up. Taking pictures at the most random times.

“I need pictures of natural beauties just living life.” Jiwoo had answered when Jinsoul had questioned what exactly was going on. As much as she didn’t understand her, the blush that had crept up to her cheeks clearly had.

Jumping down landing on the bed underneath her, Jiwoo smiled as she went to take her rightful place on Jinsouls lap. (There was another chair right next to her, but why would she sit there when Jinsoul’s lap was free real estate.)

Without saying a word, Jinsoul rested her hand on Jiwoo’s inner thigh as she continued to read the documents she had been looking at for the past hour. She was used to this happening. It didn’t really faze her as much as it probably should have. They stayed like that for a few minutes before she felt jiwoo shift around until she was facing her. Without saying a single word, the cute girl joined her lips with her roommates. 

As startled as she was, Jinsoul quickly recovered her senses as she naturally kissed her back. The kiss was soft with no sense of urgency. At least at first. The kiss slowly deepened and the intensity rises. It was obvious where this was headed. Much to Jiwoo’s dismay, Jinsoul pulled back.

“Jiwoooo.” She complained. “I have to finish reading this before i get fired.”

“Sorry.” The red head said innocently as she began to slowly get up.

Before she was able to stand all the way up, Jinsoul quickly pulled her back down into her lap putting her hand back on her inner thigh possessively. Jiwoo smiled as she melted back into her roommate's embrace. 

“I’ll be done in a few minutes.” The older girl whispered beside her with a smirk plastered on her lips. Jiwoo simply laughed as she patiently waited, rubbing circles around Jinsoul’s hand every now and then. 

It didn’t take long before Jinsouls lips were right back where they belonged. They didn’t really know when their “friendship” became the way it was, but neither of them were going to complain. Especially not as Jinsoul carried jiwoo towards their bed.

  
  
  


++

  
  


“Hey Soo?” Junguen called out as she got out of the shower. Today was one of the rare days when neither of them worked.

“Hmm.” Sooyoung closed her book giving the younger girl her attention.

“Are we going to do anything about Chaewon getting a job, orrr?” Junguen let the question drag out as she changed into casual clothes.

Laughing, Sooyoung began reading her book once more. “Let her. She won’t last longer than a week.”

Laughing along Junguen went to lay down next to her. “So no intricate plan this time?

“Nah…” Sooyoung answered in thought. “Hyejoo is just a stubborn asshole who would work everyday just out of spite.”

It was true. Everyone knew Hyejoo would literally do anything just to piss someone off. She craved the feeling of anger it seemed like.

“We have another gig this weekend.” Sooyoung announced casually from her spot on the bed.

“We WHAT?” Junguen squeaked out in surprise. 

With a smile forming on her lips, Sooyoung chuckled. “Yea they called earlier. The Blue Lagoon wants us to play this week as their special band.”

Junguen was starstruck. Even if Sooyoung was making it seem like this wasn’t a big deal, anyone knew it was. The Blue Lagoon was one of the most populated bars in LA.

Just as she was going to scream in delight, Sooyoung's phone rang.

“Hello.” She answered

“Whoa. Slow down Chae.” She said after a few seconds.

“SHE WHAT.” She screamed out after a few more seconds of silence. With a grunt she hung up the phone.

“So much for a relaxing evening.” Sooyoung grunted.

“What happened?” Junguen asked worriedly.

“Hyejoo’s dumbass just got arrested.” Sooyoung mumbled as she got up ready to go to the police station.

“SHE WHAT.” Junguen screamed loudly.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think in the comments down below!!


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